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It’s true. Flats are the footwear of the bourgeois and the
proletariat. And I’m not just saying that because they’re far more
comfortable to wear at work than heels. Indeed, I used to think of my
favorite flats as a personal fashion bargain. I would think to myself,
“I’m trading a little bit of fashion fierceness for a whole lotta
comfort.” Never one to kill herself for fashion, I saw my flats as a
sign of my own laid-back approach to life. My, how my approach to flats
has changed since I learned about the history of heels.
Sometime during the early 1500s, heels were added to boots to help
horse riders keep their foot in the stirrup. Even before then, people
often wore tall outer shoes to keep their delicate shoes out of street
debris. We have a Medici to thank for the idea of fashionable high
heels. Catherine Medici was the first aristocrat to turn her shoes into
a statement of power. She added two-inch heels to her shoes to give
her a confidence boost for her presentation to the French court.
Catherine’s innovation soon became popular for both sexes. Although
figures like Mary Tudor strapped on heels to appear more impressive,
France’s Louis XIV solidified the idea of heels representing social
class. The Sun King declared that only nobility would be allowed to wear
red heels, upon pain of death. Furthermore, no one could wear heels
higher than his own. Louis’ heels were as high as five inches tall, and
often included miniature depictions of battle scenes.

And here’s where flat shoes became a revolutionary symbol. Heels had
long been associated with social status and height– indeed, as Cameron
Kippen writes for the British Journal of Podiatry,
“The term ‘well-heeled’ is thought to relate to the habit of the rich
towering over the poor,” thanks to high heels. When Napoleon stormed
through France during the Revolution, he banned heels. Still, Marie
Antoinette marched to her death at the guillotine in two-inch heels–the
footwear equivalent of screaming, “Let them eat cake!”
So, the next time that you opt for a flat shoe, don’t get down on
yourself for not toughing out a tottering day on heels, like I do.
Instead, slip into your cozy flats and congratulate yourself on wearing anti-establishment kicks.